to celebrate, pot smokers have been lighting up in the shadow of seattle's iconic space needle. cnn's miguel marquez is in seattle for us this morning. morning. >> reporter: good morning there. this was only one of many parties across the state with people just taking the first step as this new law is implemented. ♪ >> reporter: the moment recreational pot, anything less than an ounce, no longer illegal in washington state. >> it's amazing. i'm not a criminal anymore. i can't go to jail for small amounts of marijuana. you know, it's -- i'm free to be free. >> reporter: several dozen hard-core smokers showed up here to the base of the space needle, the symbol of the city and of the state to light up at the stroke of midnight. and while the new law does not allow smoking in public places, seattle police and police departments across the state are turning a blind eye tonight, allowing celebrations to light up. this is what you'd assume the stores will look like or something along these lines? >> so, yeah, our stores are going to have the feel of a fine cigar shop. >> jaymon shive